Method of molding thermoplastic materials



May 18, 1937. A.'E. PETERSEN 2,080,783

, METHOD OFKOLDING THERMOPLASTIC MATERiALS 0 Filed March 9, .1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q E a Q INVENTOR e N ARTHUR e- PETERSEN ATTORNEYS May 18, 1937. A. E. PETERSEN METHOD OF MOLDING THERMOPLASTIC MATERIALS Filed March 9, 1932 :s sheets-sneet 2 INVENTOR ARTHUR E- PETERSEN BY W- May 18, 1937. E. PETERSEN METHOD 0F. MOLDING THERMOPLASTIC MATERIALS Filed March 9, 1932 s Sheets-Shet 3 a. U LI Patented May 18,1937

METHOD OF MOLDING THERMOPLASTIC MATERIALS Arthur F, Petersen, Westfleld, N. J., assignor to Celluloid Corporation, a corporation of Jersey New Application March 9, weasel-m No. 597,689

1 Claim. (c1. 18-.-55)

This invention relates to the molding of thermoplastic compositions and relates more particularly to the extrusion of such compositions while they are in a plastic or liquid state into molds or dies of desired shape.

An object of my invention isto provide method and means for the extrusion molding of thermoplastic materials, particularly material comprising organic derivatives of cellulose, whereby greatly improved molded products are produced. A further object of my invention is to extrude such compositions while they are at suitable tem 1 peratures and/or at suitable pressures, so that strong molded articles made of compositions that are substantially free of decomposition maybe sure, only a part of the material in the heating chamber was charged into the mold cavity, while the remaining portion was left to be furtherheated. In this manner, some of the molding composition remained in the heating chamber during many cycles of the extrusion process, and

therefore was subjected to the action of heat for a long period of time, during which it became decomposed. 3

Furthermore, because of the large volume of the heating chamber employed in the prior prac tice, and the removal of only part of the molding composition at a' time, there was no uniform heating of the entire mass, with the result that the molding composition at the periphery of the heating chamber near the heating unit and in the vicinity of the-extrusion nozzle became overheated,while the center portion and that part near the piston or plunger employed for forcing the material into the mold would be poorly heated, with the result that the molded product would be non-homogeneous inphysical characteristics.

As a result of the drawbacks of the prior methods of extrusion, articles formed therefrom lack uniformity of quality as regards strength, therprocess may be overcome by charging an amount of the molding composition into the heating chamberthat is at most relatively slightly in excess of that required to fill the mold cavity, andheating the molding composition for such time as to impart the required ..plast icity to the whole 5 mass of the same while avoiding decomposition by overheating. Ihave further found that great- 1y improved molded products can be produced, even while employing the prior processes, by extruding the molding composition into the mold in, cavity under very high pressures.

In accordance with my invention, I prepare molded articles from thermoplastic compositions, particularly those containing organic derivatives oi cellulose, by an extrusion molding process, l5

wherein at least one, but preferably all of the following expedients are observed, namely (1) the amount of thermoplastic material'that is 'heated prior to extrusion is not greatly in excess:

of that required to fill'the mold cavity, (2) the thermoplastic material is heated so that itis in such a state of plasticity or liquidity that upon the application. of pressure the wholemass flows readily, (3) the pressure employed for forcing the molding material from the heating chamber into the mold cavity is very high.

While any suitable, thermoplastic compositioncontaining organic compounds may be employed y in my invention, thisinvention is particularly applicable to the molding of thermoplastic'compositions containing organic derivatives-of cellulose such as organic esters of cellulose and ce1lu-' lose ethers. Examples of such organic esters of cellulose are cellulose acetate, cellulose formate,

' cellulose propionate and cellulose butyrate, while examples of' cellulose ethers are ethyl cellulose, J methyl cellulose and benzyl cellulose.

' In addition to the organic derivative of cellulose, the molding composition will preferably contain plasticizers or softening agents such as di-- 40 methyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, di (methoxy ethyl) phthalate, diethyl tartrate, dibutyl tartrate, triacetin', triphenyl phosphate, etc. or mixtures of twotor more of these. The plasticizer and organic derivative of cellulose should preferably be in very intimate admixture, and may be pre-.

pared by any suitablemethods, for instance such as described in the U. S.-patents to He'rrmann, No. 1,510,779; 0. Dreyfus, No. 1,595,506; C. 'Dreyfus and G. Schneider, No. 1,732,330 and the 1113- .50-

, efiect materials. The molding composition may be in the form of powder, chips, flakes or any I sired results.

other suitable physical form to attain the de- In order to obtain the best results, the molding composition should preferably be heated, prior to extrusion into the die or mold, to such'a temperature that it is quite plastic throughout so that it liquefies upon application of a; mild degree of pressure. The temperatures required for attaining this result will vary with the composition-of the molding composition and the amount of plasticizer present, this temperature being lower the greater the proportion of plasticizer. By way of 'Emmple II i Parts by weight Cellulose acetate .l 100 Mixture of triphenyl'phosphate and tricresyl phosphate The phthalate of'monomethyl ether of ethylsay 50parts of piasticizer per 100 parts of celluj ene glycol (di-methoxyethyl phthalate) 30 For these formulas which contain 45 parts of plasticizer per 100 parts of cellulose acetate, and which form products of normal hardness, the temperature of heating may be 160 to 170 C. (320 to 335 F.) For a softer formula containing lose acetate, lower temperatures may be used,

whereas for a hard formula, containing only parts of plasticizer per parts of cellulose acetate, higher temperatures will be required.

In order to obtain uniformity of physical prop-, erties in the molded articles, the molding composition containing the organic derivative of cellu- 'lose is preferably subjected to the action ofheat only for such length oftime necessary to impart the desired degree of plasticity or liquidity to the whole mass thereof, without subjecting the same to these elevated temperatures for such time as to cause decomposition or incipient decomposition in part or in allof the mass thereof. The

time of heating will vary with the volume of the molding composition being heated, .the size and shape of the heating chamber, the heating means and the formula of the molding composition. By

way of example, it is pointed out that for the cellulose acetate molding powder specifically described above, the time of heating may be in the order of 1 to 5 minutes.

- In order to avoid decomposition of the molding composition, the amount heated at one timein the heatingchamber is preferably at most only slightly in excess, say 5 to 10%, of that required. to fill the mold cavity, ,or multiple mold cavities.

into which it is extruded. Conveniently the 65 heating chamber itself has a volume Just sumcient to contain this amount of molding composition, and suchheating chamber is preferably shaped in such a mannerthat the extruding piston or plunger can remove substantially all ofthe molding compositioncontained therein upon completion of its stroke. If an excess of molding composition. is present in the heating chamber after .the extrusion of the molding composition into the mold cavity, preferably the mold is removed and-any material remaining in the heatfurthermost'portion is still liquid and ing chamber is purged by the extruding rain or.

plunger, in order to remove the excess material that has already been subjected to heat and which may deteriorate or decompose upon further heating in the next cycle. a

This method of heating the organic derivative of cellulose molding composition produces molded products'of uniform physical properties such as strength, since all of the material has been rendered plastic and no part ofthe same-is overheated or decomposed, with the result that no part of the article is made ofmaterial which has been decomposed and which has not beenthoroughly converted by the action of heat and pressure. I I In the case of making molded products having mottled eifects produced by the extrusion molding v of chips of different colors, by my process, since the whole mess is plastic prior and during exwalls of the chamber was plastic while the interior was not, and this more highly heated material flowed more readily than the material of the interior, and goodmottle effects were not 5 produced. I

In the prior processes involving the use of large heating chambers and large charges of molding materials that were heated prior to extrusion, the

\full .benefit of the pressure applied by the extruding plunger or ram were not obtained. By

minimizing the excessof molding material that is heated prior to extrusion by diminishing the.

size of the heating chamber, greater benefit is obtained fromfthe 'eflect -o! thepressure appliedby the extruding ram or plunger, and because ofextruding the heated molding composition into the dle or mold cavity produces articles of superior properties. I have found that if pressures of 5000 to 50,000 or more pounds pe square inch are applied. bythe extruding pl er or ram many advantageous results are obtained. While pressures of 5,000to"20,000 pounds per square inch are generally sumcient in the case where the molding composition is heated as described above, pressures of- 20,000 to 50,000 pounds per square inch are to be preferred'whenthe prior practice of heating largequantities of molding composition in large heating chambers is employedQ As to the choiceof. specific pressures,

- hand, by the use of smaller pressures in the prior practice, the material in the .furthermost portion of the mold was not subjected to anyappreciable pressure, since while it flowed into the 'n'mldthere was no opposition to its flow and. therefore no pressure was applied, and by the time the mold ified so that no pressure was really applied thereto. By the use of the-high pressures of this invention, the mold fills up very rapidiyand the therefore subjected to the high pressures;

Moreover by heating the molding material in was filled,-this material had cooled off and solidmold while cold and not plastic. This'cold. flow greatly impaired the strength of the molded articles.

In order further to illustrate and'explain my invention, but without being limited thereto, reference is had to the accompanying drawings which show diagrammatically apparatus that elucidates some modes of carrying out my invention,

and wherein I I 1 Fig. 1 shows a vertical cross-section of apparatus for the extrusion molding in an intermittent or batch process:

Fig. 2 is a plan view of-apparatus for the ex- 20'trusion' molding in a continuous or automatic manner;

Fig. 3 is a cross-section along the line 3- -3 of 'Fig.2,and

Fig. 4 is a cross-section along'the line l of Fig. 2.

4o able valves that are operated by the lever H.

The extrusion chamber 3 is formed with an extrusion nozzle l2, which preferably tapers off sharply from the cylindrical walls of the chamber 3, so that when the plunger 5 has completedits 45 stroke, but little of the molding composition re- I,

mains in the nozzle i2.

A mold or die it having a cavity I 4 corresponding to the shape of the article to be molded is provided. 'Ihis mold is preferably cooled by water 5 or other cooling medium circulating therethrough. The mold I3 is made of two parts i and it, the part it being providedwith a passage i! which registers with the passage in the nozzle l2. The ejector l8, whose end is normally 55 restrained against entry into themold cavity 14 v by means of the spring is, is provided, and upon movement of the portion 15 of the mold, the end of the ejector engages the abutment 2| and moves laterally to eject the molded article in the 60 molded cavity l4.

It is to be noted that the volume of the heatingchamber 5 is only slightly in excess of that re-' quiredto contain the amount of molding compo-" sition necessary completely to fill the mold cav- 65 ity I4. I In operation of the device shown in Fig; 1, a molding composition having the formula either of the foregoing specific Examples I and. II, is

fed by the hopper I intothe heating chamber 3,

70 the plunger 5 having been previously forced to theright by the action of compressedair on the piston admitted through pipe 8. The molding composition is permitted to remain in] the heating chamber 3 for about 1 to 5 minutes and in 75 that time has attained a temperature .of about -a,oso,7es I Referring to Fig. 1, a hopper l is provided for containing and supplying the, molding composiity to a heating cylinder or chamber 8, which 160 to 170' C. and is either flowable or will become fiowable upon application of pressure. Thereupon, by manipulation of the lever H and the valves in the control chamber l0, compressed airor other fluid under high pressure is admitted into the chamber 1 through the pipe 9, the pressure of the air or fluid being such that the pressure of the end of the extrusion plunger 5 in the heating chamber 3 is from 5,000 to 20,000 pounds per square inch. Acting under-this pressure, the plunger 5 forces the heating molding composition through the nozzle l2 into the mold cavity- I 4, whereupon itcools to form the molded article. The mold I3 is then opened, the part l5 thereof being inoved laterally so that the member 20 enthe molded article.

I Since the heating chamber 3 contains but little excess of material over that required to fill thethereof by means of the piston 5 while the moldi3 is open.

After the extrusion step, the piston 5'is caused to move to the right, to permit the feeding of molding material to the chamber land the cycle of operation is repeated.

Referring ,to Figs. 2 to 4, which show apparatus for carrying out the molding in an automatic or con'tinuousmanner, a rotatable table actuated.

by means for intermittently rotating the same is provided. Upon this rotatable table 25 there are" mounted a plurality of heating chambers or cylinders 26. Although six of such heating chambers 26are shown, any suitable number, say 2 to l2 or more may be provided. These heating chambers 25 are heated by means of electric. heating elements 21, to which electric current is applied by the contact rings 28, fed by the conductors 29.-

At a predetermined'point above the rotatable table 25, a stationary supply hopper 30 for supply of the molding material is provided, and this is adapted to supply a predetermined quantityof molding material to a heating chamber 25 imme- 15 ,gages the abutment 2| and the ejector l8 ejects diately below'it, by actuation of the sliding gates 3iand 32 in the throat 33 of the hopper. The

quantity of material thus fed is preferably just about sufficient to 1111 the mold cavity.

At another predetermined point above the rotatable'table 25, and preferably at a remote distance therefrom in direction of rotation of the table 25, there is mounted a stationary extruding plunger device, comprising a cylinder 35 in which the piston 36 reciprocates under the action of the pressure-fiui dadmitted through the pipes 31 and 38 under control of the valves in the control box 39 and actuated by movement of the lever 40. An extrusion plunger ll is actuated by the piston 36.

A plurality. of molds 42 having cavities 43 are provided under the rotating table 25. While 'these molds 42 are shown on the drawings as being rotatably mounted, and a mold is provided .for each heating cylinder 28, this is notessential,

since even one stationary mold, provided it is in a; position under the extrusion ll may be suillcient.

Similarly a s in the case of the mold is shown in Fig. 1, the mold 42 is adapted to be'opened and the molded article ejected therefrom after extrusionof the'molding material.

The rotatable table 25 is provided with any suitable means to impart intermittent rotation thereof. In Fig. 2, this means'is shown as a Geneva movement which comprises a rotating disc ll having a rotating projecting arm 4' attached' thereto, to the underiace of which a rod 41 is fixed, which rodis adapted to engage slots 48 in the table 26. The periphery of the table 25 has six cutaway portions ll, whose contours are arcs of the disc 4i. The disc II is provided tion oi the disc 45 with the periphery of the arcu-' ated portion of the table II.

In operation oi the device shown in Figs. 2 to 4, a molding composition, say -a cellulose acetate composition having the iormula as described in specific Examples 1 and '11. is charged into the hopper 3.. The table II carrying the heating cyl-.

inders ,2 is caused to rotate intermittently, and

- when a heating cylinder 28 comes into a position immediately under the discharge spout it of the hopper 30, the slide members ll and II are caused to move by suitable automatic means so that 'the upper slide member 3| closes the spout 33 while the. lower slide member 32 opens the spout and permits the predetermined amount of molding powder, which amount is not appreciably greater than that required to fill the mold cavity 43', to drop into the heated cylinder 2.0. The table then rotates to bring the next heating cylinder 20 under the supply hopper 80 and this cylinder is charged ;in a similar manner. The process of filling the heating cylinders proceeds continuously.

A heating cylinder it having been charged with the molding composition, it is carried around by means 01' the rotating table "until it comes under the extrusion plunger 4| operated by the piston It in the cylinder 35, During this time his heated to the point oi plasticity of fluidity described monomer above by means of the electric heating elements 21 which are supplied with electric current from 1 the contact ringsfll. The time required for the cylinder to travel from the'supply hopper 30 to the extruding plunger ll will be governed by the nature of the material and other considerations and will be such to obtain thorough and proper heating but to avoid overheating, the time being on the order otsay 1 to minutes.

When the cylinder 28 carrying the heated charge oi molding compositionecomes under the plunger ll, the plunger is caused to enter the cylinder under the high pressure above specified, by the entry of air, gas or other fluid under high pressure through the pipe 31, the entry of such pressuremedium beinggoverned by the automatic manipulation of the valves in the control box 30.

In this manner, the hot molding composition is forced into the mold cavity 43, and thereupon it is-cooled and the solidified molded article is then elected from the mold.

By this process, molded articles made of thermoplastic' compositions containing organic ma-' terials, particularly organic derivatives of cellulose, may be made having all the desirable characteristics'oi properties set forth.

It is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is given merely by way of illustration and many variations'may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

Process for the injection molding of articles in a substantially continuous manner, which comprises moving a plurality of chambers around a circuit, charging each chamber with a. thermoplastic material at one part oi the circuit, heating the charge in each chamber over another part of f,

the circuit, and at a further part of the circuit extruding each charge under pressure through anarrow passageway into a mold spec e.

an'rrr'un n PETERSEN. 

